Under T-Mobile's new payment model, the 16 GB iPhone 5 requires a down payment of $99.99 with the customer also responsible for an additional 24 monthly payments of $20, bringing the total cost of the device to $579.99. The 32 GB and 64 GB models carry the same monthly payment amounts, but require larger down payments of $199.99 and $299.99 respectively.

Single-line service plans for the iPhone 5 require no contract and begin at $50/month for unlimited talk, text, and data, although data is slowed to 2G speeds once the customer reaches 500 MB for the month. A $60/month plan raises the high-speed data cap to 2.5 GB, and a $70/month plan includes unlimited high-speed data.

so you are basically paying for an unsubsidized phone but then bound to a two year commitment and no savings on the plans ? Why would I do this again ?

Because this is not a contract like with AT&T or Verizon where you pay $200 up front and pay the additional forever if you never upgrade. With this plan you eventually pay off the phone and $20 a month comes off your bill.

I think this is a very unique and appears to be better way to do this. I hope we see others follow.

so you are basically paying for an unsubsidized phone but then bound to a two year commitment and no savings on the plans ? Why would I do this again ?

You didn't quite read it.

Nobody "subsidises" any phones. What most companies do is give you a phone with a cheap down payment, charge you more over the next 24 months, and then charge you more again after these months.

T-Mobile tells you what the phone costs, and gives you two options to pay - pay it all in one go, or $99 now and the rest over 24 months. That's a purchase, and you have to pay the purchase price. You wouldn't expect not to have to pay, right? In addition, they offer phone and data service at some price with no long-term contract. Actually, three different levels of data service at different prices.

What I like about it is that they offer things in a way that almost everyone would understand. I have seen plenty of people who just _do not understand_ that what they pay for a "subsidized" iPhone is not the price of an iPhone. And if you ever looked at prices at O2 in the UK, either whoever sets the prices is a complete idiot, or, more likely, they are intentionally trying to confuse their customers.

so you are basically paying for an unsubsidized phone but then bound to a two year commitment and no savings on the plans ? Why would I do this again ?

I think you missed the 2nd paragraph of the article:

"Single-line service plans for the iPhone 5 require no contract and begin at $50/month for unlimited talk, text, and data, although data is slowed to 2G speeds once the customer reaches 500 MB for the month. A $60/month plan raises the high-speed data cap to 2.5 GB, and a $70/month plan includes unlimited high-speed data."

The 24 monthly payments of $20 are installment payments for the phone IF you don't want to put out the entire $580 immediately. Also, T-Mob will unlock the phone as soon as the phone is paid off, unlike ATT.

I'm on ATT & no plan to switch to T-Mob, but based on U.S. coverage, not $. T-Mob as a carrier is meh, that is why I won't switch.

I think you would need to be a customer for at least 30 days (this is what Verizon has done for customers who recently acquired a new phone through subsidized pricing). You might want to contact T-Mobile support to verify this.

Of course, you are still obligated to fulfill the duration of the service agreement

There is no service agreement. You just are financing the phone at 0% intertest. I don't really know how many more times this can be stated.

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